Honestly, what do I do? I want to be a realist optimist instead of a fearful skeptic, maybe a cautious tester, but probably not the transparent evangelist. [1] But we are living and leading in a time when more people than ever before are willing to share openly and publicly about themselves, their work and their lives\u2014even the very personal and intimate details of their lives. It is certainly a time of greater openness and the sharing of all facets of life, work, and faith. Because of this \u201cgreater openness is inevitable\u201d and expected in all parts of society; this includes businesses and organizations. [2]<\/p>\n
It is in this contest that Charlene Li assists the business and organizational leader in navigating this new era of social media, all the while affirming that social media has the power to transform business and organizations. It begins by being more open, by letting go of some control and allowing social media to be a platform where a broader base of relationships can be cultivated and maintained. [3] Because there are more people online than ever before, more businesses and organizations can speak to and build relationships with broader segments of the population than ever before. At this point, I want to get right to the question. What does this mean for world missions? It seems that in world missions, social media can be the best of friends or the worst of enemies, both for the organization and for the missionaries themselves. A sandbox may be part of the answer.<\/p>\n
As a missions leader, on more than one occasion I have received an email from a concerned supporter stating that they saw missionary X on Facebook doing Y when they should have been doing Z. I am sometimes asked to intervene to make sure the missionary is aware of the impact of their posts. To be sure, missionary X may not have been using wisdom in their posting efforts. But in defense of the missionary, it is difficult to feel the influence of social media when one lives so far away from the impact point. Not to mention that missionaries have lives too! However, like the threat of an arctic wind, overexposure on social media can be dangerous at best and deadly at worst.<\/p>\n
On the other side of the coin, on more than one occasion I have received a happy email from a supporter who said they saw missionary X was doing well in both ministry and family and they were happy for them. There is no point to these two examples other than to illustrate the expediency by which can people can disseminate, receive, and respond to information, and to illustrate the power of social media to inform opinion and elicit an almost immediate reaction. It can be a friend or an enemy. [4]<\/p>\n